Results tagged “cops”

SFist just received the following bit of information, one you Muni freeloaders should read. A reader, who we'll keep anonymous, tells us that there are "[u]ndercover pigs checking for fares around the city... hundreds of them today."

At 9 a.m. today, the preliminary hearing for BART officer Johannes Mehserle began. Mehserle is charged with the murder of Oscar Grant. The former officer's defense, most likely, will center around the idea that he meant to fire his Taser, not his pistol, that fateful morning. If you recall, Grant was shot on New Year's Day at the Fruitvale station after Grant and some pals were detained by BART officers.

Fuzz from "throughout California and from as far away as New York and Florida" showed up today to attend the funerals of Sgt. Mark Dunakin, Sgt, Ervin Romans, Sgt. Daniel Sakai, and Officer John Hege. While every Oakland police officer has the day off to attend the services (or play hooky), officers from outside the OPD will take their place for the day. Same goes for 911 dispatchers. In related news, "Interstate 880 near Oracle Arena and surrounding streets are gridlocked as police officers arrive for the slain OPD officers' funeral," according to CBS 5. Use caution (or BART) when traveling in the East Bay today, folks.

             

Photographs of the makeshift memorial for Mark Dunakin, John Hege, Ervin Romans and Daniel Sakai, the four officers gunned down by Lovelle Mixon on Saturday, March 21.

Latino immigrants are fuming that they're the target of racial profiling from SFPD goons. A hearing was held at City Hall on Monday, where "dozens" of non-English speakers told harrowing stories of being harassed by the fuzz "for minor violations such an open containers on the street or a tail light out, being interrogated, having their IDs taken and their cars impounded." The police defend their actions, claiming that without vehicles criminals can't commit drive-bys or perform "other acts of violence and get away quickly." Touché. On the other hand, this recent spike in traffic stops, based off of skin color or whatnot, will build little trust from the community, a community that is notoriously tight-lipped. Brava, SFPD.

New cellphone footage of the night of Oscar Grant's murder has surfaced. What does it show? It seems, according to reports, a second BART officer, not Johannes Mehserle, can be seen assaulting a suspect moments before Grant's shooting death. In the footage, the officer, named Tony Pirone, goes over to one of the New Year's Day men who was sitting on the ground and clocks him square in the face. KTVU had this to say after viewing the footage: